Fairness Doctrine - "Man is not free unless government is limited.... As government expands, liberty contracts." Ronald Reagan

For those not familiar with the Fairness Doctrine, here is the history:

Originally established during FDR's administration as part of the FCC, the Fairness Doctrine was enacted to require broadcast licensees (primarily radio stations) to present controversial issues of public importance in a manner deemed by the FCC to be honest, equitable, and balanced. Simply put... those stations that air conservative talk radio would also need to allocate equal time to opposing viewpoints.

Under the disguise of honest, equitable, and balanced information, the Fairness Doctrine is simply a way to shut down free speech (so radio stations don't deal with the hassle of the requirement to balance air time).

Ronald Reagan's Administration was successful in repealing the Fairness Doctrine and it has remained so ever since; however, certain members of Congress, including the current Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, are making efforts to re-enact the Fairness Doctrine.
In an interview, Speaker Pelosi was asked, "Do you personally support revival of the ‘Fairness Doctrine?", to which she responded, “Yes,” without hesitation.

Conservatives currently dominate the air waives with radio programs such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and others, so the enactment of the Fairness Doctrine would ultimately stop their ability to broadcast (as radio stations would find it too cumbersome to balance their programs with equal liberal programs).

Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana is leading the fight to secure free speech on the airways and limit governments ability to interfere. His website contains lots of good information, including a petition, history, and facts. See his site here: http://mikepence.house.gov/fairnessdoctrine/fairnessdoctrine.htm


What can you do?
Call/email your representative and tell them to support HR 2905, the Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2007.

Can this really be that bad?
Bill Ruder, an assistant secretary of commerce under John F. Kennedy, admitted to CBS News producer Fred Friendly that "our massive strategy was to use the Fairness Doctrine to challenge and harass right-wing broadcasters and hope the challenges would be so costly to them that they would be inhibited and decide it was too expensive to continue."